Parshat Behar
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer

The primary themes of Parshas Behar are Shmitah and Yovel - the Sabbatical and Jubilee years. It would at first glance appear that these topics are presented at this juncture in Sefer Vayikra as a continuation in the spectrum of differing types of kedusha. Parshas Kedoshim dealt with personal kedusha, Emor addressed legal and objective kedusha status of persons (Kohanim) and times (yom tov), and Behar now turns to Kedushas Ha'Aretz - holiness associated with the Land of Israel.

The parshah can be understood more deeply through analysis of one aspect of Yovel. The Torah commands (25:9) that the shofar be sounded on Yom Kippur of the Yovel year. In fact, Rashi posits (ibid. v. 10) that the very name "Yovel" is derived from the shofar blowing which marks the fiftieth year. What does the shofar have to do with Yovel? Why is the shofar of Yovel blown on Yom Kippur rather than on some other day of that special year?

Yom Kippur represents teshuva - return. On Yom Kippur, we seek to reconnect and reestablish our relationship with God and renew ourselves with a state of purity. Yom Kippur is the day when we become spiritually realigned.

Yovel is quite similar to Yom Kippur. Unlike Shmitah, Yovel calls for return of ancestral property and permanent freedom for the Eved Ivri. The land is reassociated with its original proprietors, and man who served man is now reconnected directly to God's avodah.

Thus, the shofar of Yovel is sounded as a call to herald return. Yom Kippur of Yovel marks the complete spiritual and physical return of Bnei Yisroel to a primordial, pristine state. (See Ramban on 25:10.)

Whereas Yovel reflects teshuva - return, akin to Yom Kippur, Shmita represents an awareness of God's authority over all. Similar to Shabbos, Shmitah is marked by a cessation from work, thereby proclaiming that the land and its produce are the property of Hashem. The cancellation of loans (Hashmatas Kesafim) is also indicative of God's ultimate authority over all that is "ours". The Torah refers to Shmitah as "Shabbos", underscoring the commonality of Shabbos and Shmita, for both are modes of expression of God's mastery over all.

Yovel is the pinnacle of the Shmitah cycles. Indeed, agricultural work is prohibited during Yovel as well. This is because inherent within return to Hashem and the state which He ordained is a recognition of His ultimate control and ability to define the universe. On Yovel, we take the message of God's mastery as expressed by Shmitah one step further and restore all to its original state, such that God's kingship is not just recognized, but is exhibited and manifest as well, as we restore the world according to the Divine Will.

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